JUNE 23, 2015 \ NORTHERN.STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
Hume’s violent reality Hume is a hot bed for family violence, home to the highest number of reported incidents in the state, according to the latest crime statistics. The Crime Statistics Agency last Thursday released its data for Victoria for the year ending March 31, 2015. The figures show Hume had the most local government area family incidents – 2991 – between April, 2014, and March this year. Whittlesea was not far behind with 2644 incidents, the third-highest number in the state. Hume’s Acting Inspector Phil Nash said the number of family violence incidents being reported in the area was a real concern. “It’s not isolated to certain demographics but right across the board,” he said. “I think it’s how people deal with stress … they’re taking it out on the people they so-called love.” Acting Inspector Nash said the increase in breaches of orders, up from 1503 in the same period last year to 2097 this year, mostly related to family violence orders. “It’s taking up a lot of police time and resources and it shows in the statistics,” he said. The figures also reveal a three-fold increase in firearm offences in the north-west in the past five years. In Hume, the number of weapons and explosives offences has jumped from 643 to 765 in the space of a year. The statistics were not all bad news for the north. Hume police’s proactive approach to seeking out drug labs and dealers
played out in the figures, with the number of drug use and possession offences up by about 40 per cent on last year. “We’re catching them and that’s great,” Acting Inspector Nash said. “We have a number of operations running at the moment and have executed between 24 and 30 warrants in the Sunbury region.”
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It’s taking up a lot of police time and resources - Phil Nash
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Whittlesea’s overall rate of crime was marginally down this year, a trend Whittlesea’s Inspector Paul Tysoe said owed to assistance from the Operations Response Unit. The unit’s specially trained officers provide a visible presence in areas that surveillance has shown are trouble hotspots. Inspector Tysoe attributed the rise in family violence incidents to the area’s rapid population growth. “The type of people coming in, largely young couples new in their relationship and with big mortgages, and the prevalence of illicit drugs, alcohol abuse and gambling addiction all contribute to the problem,” he said. A dedicated family violence team that worked alongside community service organisation Berry Street had been embedded at Mill Park police station to counter the rising family violence trend, Inspector Tysoe said.
(Damjan Janeski)
By Lexi Cottee
Painting a brighter future Next week, Reverend John Vander Reest (pictured) will celebrate 50 years since his ordination as a minister in 1956. Although officially retired, this man of the cloth now leads a small congregation at the Scots Church in Sydney Road, Campbellfield. To celebrate his 50 years, he will exhibit more than 60 of his oil paintings in the 1842-built church hall. Proceeds from their sale will go to the Lentara Uniting Care refugee program. ■ Full story: P10 Lexi Cottee
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